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What was the historical significance of Voltaires Candide and its relevance during the Enlightenment In his work Candide Voltaire uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the eighteenth century a period known as the Enlightenment This Age of Reason swept through Europe offering differing views on science religion and politics The following essay will outline the philosophical theory of Pangloss a character of the novel and suggest how his optimistic worldview is challenged by numerous disasters I will also justify the reasons Voltaire attacks hypocrisy most prevalent in religion and displays the cruel actions of the priests monks and other religious leaders In the novel his anger becomes obvious towards the church and the nobility I will relate to findings how Voltaire expresses his views about society His belief that the separation of class hypocrisy of organized religion rampant materialism lack of Free Will and deficiency of compassion for others all contributed to the lack of human liberty in the eighteenth century Candide a kind hearted man is the leading character of the novel He acknowledges the greed violence and cruelty of mankind yet still offers kind and meaningful charity to those in need He travels the world encountering a wide variety of misfortunes all the while pursuing security and following Cunegonde the woman he loves She was of noble birth the daughter of a German baron Candides tutor Dr Pangloss were maintaining that we live in the best of all possible worlds where everything is connected and arranged for the best His optimistic belief is the primary target of the novels satire For him man is the creator of his own world and his sense of morality should guide him He believed Individual misfortunes create general welfare so that the more individual misfortunes there are the more all is well Candide believed Panglosss philosophy without question because he has never had any

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